Job Seekers with Neurological Conditions Sought for Award-Winning Documentary Series "Employable Me"

[Butterfly88]

Found this on Twitter and thought it may be of interest to some.

Twitter Link: Liz Alderman CASTING (@CASTINGgal) | Twitter

 

[Mr Allen]

Found this on Twitter and thought it may be of interest to some.

Twitter Link: Liz Alderman CASTING (@CASTINGgal) | Twitter

I just sent them a Tweet asking to appear on the Show.

Meh, at 41 I'm probably too old, same as with The Undateables.

 

[Progster]

Meh, at 41 I'm probably too old, same as with The Undateables.

41 isn't too old to get a job, or to date.

 

[Butterfly88]

I just sent them a Tweet asking to appear on the Show.

Meh, at 41 I'm probably too old, same as with The Undateables.

Good luck Rich! I don't think 41 is too old, people get new jobs at all ages.

 

[Mr Allen]

I sent them a Tweet last week, I check my Twitter daily for responses, and to date, nothing... So much for that idea.

 

[Butterfly88]

I sent them a Tweet last week, I check my Twitter daily for responses, and to date, nothing... So much for that idea.

It says people interested should e-mail, perhaps you should. Perhaps they need to know more about you then can fit into a tweet. Or maybe they will answer and are just slow.

 

[Aeolienne]

I took part in the first series, when I was 40. However my contribution was reduced to a short film on BBC3.

I admit to feeling quite envious when I watched the second series and saw how the format had changed. If only I could have benefitted from assistance with creative job searching techniques; maybe if I had the programme makers wouldn't have needed to fake a happy ending. Contrary to what the video implies, what I was actually offered was a temporary job as an agency worker at National Grid, earning less than a graduate trainee. Less than a year later I was told that I hadn't displayed sufficient analytical ability to be upgraded to a permanent role, and out I went. So much for Aspies and their special talents!

 

[Mr Allen]

It says people interested should e-mail, perhaps you should. Perhaps they need to know more about you then can fit into a tweet. Or maybe they will answer and are just slow.

What''s the email address? I looked on the BBC website this morning and couldn't find it.

 

[Starfire]

I took part in the first series, when I was 40. However my contribution was reduced to a short film on BBC3.

I admit to feeling quite envious when I watched the second series and saw how the format had changed. If only I could have benefitted from assistance with creative job searching techniques; maybe if I had the programme makers wouldn't have needed to fake a happy ending. Contrary to what the video implies, what I was actually offered was a temporary job as an agency worker at National Grid, earning less than a graduate trainee. Less than a year later I was told that I hadn't displayed sufficient analytical ability to be upgraded to a permanent role, and out I went. So much for Aspies and their special talents!

Thank you for posting the link, I just watched the film and I find it scandalous that you haven't been snapped up by a company! I agree the film is very misleading and does imply that you were taken on full time at the end. I also spent many years as an agency worker earning less than my colleagues, no holiday pay, no sick pay etc. I started my own small business which also had its problems before finally closing it down after being offered a temporary contract by a company I subcontracted to. After being on that temporary contract 5 years I was finally taken on this January, I'm 50 in a few months. It is so tough to get a break and it's often not based on ability, but by being 'taken under the wing' of the right manager as happened in my case, I got lucky, eventually. I really wish you all the best in your work search and I empathise with you about hard it is just getting a chance, never mind the right chance. Good luck to you!

 

[Butterfly88]

What''s the email address? I looked on the BBC website this morning and couldn't find it.

It's on the first post.

 

[Mr Allen]

It's on the first post.

I sent them an email this morning.

I'll see if they respond with anything helpful.

Well as it happens, I emailed the link in the OP last week and they've just responded, she said they were recruiting for the US version of the show but gave me a link to the UK website, on which I've filled in an application to appear on their show.

Hopefully they'll be in touch within the next 14 days.

 

[Aeolienne]

Thank you for posting the link, I just watched the film and I find it scandalous that you haven't been snapped up by a company!

I am working now, but it's not for a company (or at least not in the private sector) but a branch of the civil service. Neither the job nor the salary are particularly enthralling. Despite (or maybe because of) having to wait five months for security clearance, my manager didn't seem to have that much of a work plan for me. So far all I've done is a few exercises in SQL. I have no idea how soon I'll have a definite accomplishment to put on my CV which I could then use to get another job. Obviously it wouldn't be appropriate to ask.

Getting back to the subject of Employable Me's second series, I was intrigued by the case of Alan in the final episode and the way he moved from Hertfordshire to the East Midlands before he'd even found a job. You see, at various times in my life I have cherished dreams of moving to a new area. When I was fresh out of university and living with my parents my desired location was as vague as anywhere outside of London. Several years down the line when I got fired by the Met Office, by which time I was a homeowner in Exeter, I sincerely hoped that my next job would be in Bristol. I have retained that attraction for Bristol ever since, especially when the city held the title of European Green Capital during 2015. However every time I thought of moving somewhere else I always told myself that I couldn't move anywhere without landing a job first, so ultimately I'd end up wherever the next job was.

My situation is made more complicated by my flat in Exeter (which I've let out ever since I moved to Skipton for the next job after the Met Office). Because I'm not living in it, the level of equity remaining in the property is counted as equivalent to savings, which means that I have been ineligible for means-tested benefits all the times I've been out of work. This includes the most recent period of unemployment, between March and October of last year. I had no option but to rely on my overdraft limit and handouts from my parents (I had previously run down all my savings in order to move to Warwickshire). Even since starting the civil service job (on a much lower salary than National Grid), I have been overdrawn most of the time. I'm despairing of ever getting my affairs in order, let alone ever being able to sell the Exeter flat and buy somewhere local - I haven't even been able to afford to buy new work clothes.

As I said earlier, I still retain a soft spot for Bristol but sometimes I contemplate other places too. For instance, on a recent sightseeing visit to Derby I read in a free local magazine that the city has "the highest average workplace salary outside London" and yet compared to Leamington Spa its property prices are a steal. And I'm sure I once read that Swindon, yes Swindon, has the most favourable ratio of property prices to average income.

Am I a fool, am I hopelessly naïve to be so resigned to fate that I assume I cannot move somewhere unless and until I land a job there first? What made Alan so confident that he could land a job in the East Midlands more easily than within reach of Hertfordshire? Funny how when the benefits cap was proposed there were howls of outrage at the injustice of moving poor people beyond the M25. It seemed to be a truth (almost) universally acknowledged that London is where the majority of jobs are. Yet during my five-year sojourn with my parents the only "work" I found in London were two disappointing special autism work placements. So what does that prove?

 

[Mr Allen]

Meh, most of my working life has been "placements" from College or other sources.

It's been the only way I've ever been able to get a job.

 

[scrp14]

for society to completely accept us would probably take longer than it did for ethnic minorities to get accepted, but having no idea how long that would have been i'm guessing in the next 30 years or so, and by then my retirement age will be just a decade away, i suppose good things come to those who wait but i have problems beyond ASD that can't be accepted as easily like my degrading cosmetic / facial features that i find myself in a catch22 situation, that I cannot afford these things in order to get accepted into a job, and a job is needed for money.

 

[Mr Allen]

Well I sent the email to the UK version last week, and they're still yet to even acknowledge my email. So much for that idea.

 

[tducey]

Sounds like something I'd be interested in doing, will have to check it out. I did a study here in Newfoundland related to a similar thing last year.

 

[Mary Anne]

I sent them a Tweet last week, I check my Twitter daily for responses, and to date, nothing... So much for that idea.

It can take months to years create a Documentary. Stay focused & hopeful, Rich!

 

[Fitzo]

I watched the first episode of the Australian version this week. There were two auties and someone with tourettes. At the end they claim the girl with tourettes and one autistic guy have jobs. There are two more shows in the series. It will be interesting to see how believable the outcomes are or whether it seems to just be a showbiz 'happy ending'.
I guess it's a good thing from the perspective of increasing awareness in the wider community.

 

[Aeolienne]

Thank you for posting the link, I just watched the film and I find it scandalous that you haven't been snapped up by a company!

May I ask what in particular makes you say this? The occupational psychologist got really excited by my ability to recite lists of numbers, as did the production team (presumably they were angling for each of their participants to have a "special talent" label attached to them). I said at the time, and I'll say it again: I fail to see how this is anything other than a party trick. Seriously, if I were asked a typical competency-based interview question such as "Tell us about a time you had to use your initiative to solve a problem", it would be no good to reply: "Never mind that, I can recite numbers from memory!", would it?!

 

[Starfire]

Of course you may ask, and I’m happy to give you my reasons.

I agree that the ability to recite lists of numbers while interesting, is a party trick. You will be aware there are various mnemonic devices which anyone can learn to use for this purpose. The most common being a familiar route and associating numbers with landmarks.

What struck me, was how someone such as yourself who is so highly educated and qualified, could not find suitable employment.

You were clearly willing and able to travel, and to be flexible, while offering commitment and loyalty to an employer who recognised your skills and strengths. You also came across as being very committed and keen to finding work. I understand where your difficulties may be regarding social interaction, but these days I find it sad that an employer wouldn’t be willing to work with you on this, or help to find a way around. You could be offered flexi-time for example, if you needed a breather for a day, you could make up the time. You could work on your own if it suited you better. Ultimately what employers want is people willing and able to do the work and make them money and for me, you ticked all the boxes by offering everything any employer needs or asks for.

Interview questions tend to often be the same so perhaps what might help is to learn the most common questions, and plan reply’s in advance. Many people get stressed at interviews, and clam up, I know I have but it didn’t mean I couldn’t do the job, it meant I didn’t interview well.